Reflections on Grete Waitz
I happened to take World Class off my shelf this morning and started reading and looking at the pictures. This is the life story of Grete Waitz through 1986, as well as a training guide. Waitz trained at a serious level through 1990 when she won her last NYC Marathon, a race she won an amazing nine times! Her last marathon was in 1992 when she ran NYC with Fred Lebow after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Waitz’s story is compelling. She had running talent early on, focusing on 800M to 3,000M distances. She had to overcome parental and societal resistance to girls and women running competitively but persevered and in 1975-6 held the world record in the 3,000. Then in 1978 her husband Jack talked her into running the NYC Marathon on a long run of 12 miles! Grete was skeptical but the Marathon paid airfare and hotel for Jack and Grete to come over. She has often recounted that foray into marathon running: the first 18 miles seeming like a jog followed by eight miles of pain and torture. She yelled with anger at Jack at the finish line saying she would never do this again! Of … Continue reading